Budget Hotel Report - Spring 2012

May 16, 2012

The results are in and Boston leads the pack with the most expensive lodging costs of 30 major cities surveyed. This number one ranking was revealed in a new Budget Hotel Report compiled by CheapHotels.org. Therein, the price travelers will have to spend, on average, to stay overnight in the cheapest available double room was specifically looked at. The month of focus for ranking purposes was May 2012.

To stay overnight in Beantown this upcoming late spring, visitors will have to shell out at least $194 for a hotel room. That price tag puts Boston a significant $24 ahead of the second-place finisher, New York, where the same rooms are going for $172 a night. Rounding out the top three is Philadelphia, where the cheapest available room is listed at a nightly rate of $154.

To ensure fairness in its comparisons, CheapHotels.org considered only those accommodations situated in or very close to either the city center or its main attractions. That means, the frequently cheaper hotels located on the outer fringes, close to the city's airports or in the suburbs, were excluded.
Coming in at the bottom of the list were Las Vegas and Orlando in the 29th and 30th slots. Travelers staying overnight in these two cities will pay only $36 and $33, respectively, for the cheapest available double room.

The full list of rankings are as follows:

Boston $194

New York $172

Philadelphia $154

Washington, D.C. $145

New Orleans $117

Chicago $116

Houston $108

St. Louis $104

Baltimore $103

Tampa $102

San Francisco $91

Seattle $88

Atlantic City $87

Honolulu $83

San Diego $82

Austin $81

Nashville $80

Dallas $79

Fort Lauderdale $72

Miami $71

Denver $68

Portland $66

Los Angeles $63

San Antonio $61

Salt Lake City $59

Atlanta $52

Myrtle Beach $51

Anaheim $45

Las Vegas $36

Orlando $33

About the Methodology

The survey was conducted over the period spanning April 1–5. For 30 popular destinations in the USA, the price for the cheapest available double room (minimum: 2-star hotel) was established for the following timeframes: May 3–6, May 10–13, May 17–20 and May 24–27. Based on this data, an average price was calculated for each destination.

Hotel rates were established following a search of the leading hotel-booking sites: Expedia, Priceline and Orbitz. Only those hotels that are located in or within one mile of the city center, or that are very close to the city's main attractions, were considered.